Things to Do

ACTIVITIES

Bargains and one-of-a-kind gems tempt you at specialty boutiques ranging from offbeat bohemian to ultra-chic. Essential oils and miracle muds soothe your tired shopper's feet at a luxurious spa. Fresh local ingredients fuse with authentic international flavors to create world-class cuisine that thrills your taste buds. Bars and clubs seduce you with the sounds of infectious music and lively conversation. Living in Canada means living it up.

Nightlife

The DJ is playing all your favorite tunes. The ones you can really get down to. Your friends are chatting at the bar and lazing in the lounge while the lights are spinning and flashing out on the dance floor. The go-go dancers urge you to do just that – go – and so you do. The beat is too groovy to resist. If you've got the moves, Canada has the places for you to unleash them.

Spas & Relaxation

Natural hot springs, pure mineral waters and tranquil landscapes nurture your body and soul. Massage, reflexology, saunas and esthetic treatments pamper you with the personalized attention you deserve. From bustling urban centers to fresh-air mountain lodges, Canadian spas refresh your spirit and help you focus on what really matters: you.

Amusement Parks

Your heart is in your throat. Your hair is standing on end. Adrenaline pumps through your veins faster than your precipitous fall through the air. Take the kids or just take yourself. Either way, get ready for unbridled screams of glee.

Public Spaces

Long-necked swans float past your sunny picnic spot. A charming street performer wows you with pyrotechnics in a centuries-old square. You stroll casually along the boardwalk, making idle chitchat and soaking up the pleasant atmosphere. You've come to realize that the beauty of any public space is in knowing everyone is welcome and that simply watching the world pass by before your eyes is, in and of itself, something we should all do more of.

Professional & Spectator Sports

Sticks and skates gliding gracefully along the slippery ice. The crack of a well-swung bat making contact. The squeak of rubber soles on a perfectly polished hardwood court. The crash of helmets butting, and bodies slammed to the lush turf. The whistle blows and the crowd roars. A spontaneous ripple of hands circles the stadium. When the wave of humanity hits your section, you rise to your feet, arms raised high, the spirit of competition flowing from your fingertips.

Gaming & Casinos

With each ritual blow of the dice in your hand, you feel the magic at work. If you didn't know better, you'd think there was some kind of psychic connection between you and the roulette wheel. Your poker face is impenetrable, hiding an ever-widening grin just below the surface. The only thing that tops the heady feeling of a winning streak is the carefree abandon of an unexpected spending spree. When you're blessed with a bit of luck, it's nice to go somewhere where you can capitalize on it.

Science & Learning

What makes things sticky? Where did the big bang happen? Do insects sleep? How are holographs made? And why is the sky blue? A visit to one of Canada's many engaging interactive science centers, working archeological sites or outdoor education facilities is the best place to find answers to these (and other) intriguing questions about the world we live in.

ARTS

Across the country, in communities large and small, the curtains rise on drama, comedy, music and Broadway hits. Agile dancers leap across venerable stages that have stood for over a century. Indigenous peoples sing and dance in traditional costumes at scenic outdoor venues. Innovative directors use the latest technology to challenge your expectations in state-of-the-art theaters. Catch a show in Canada and discover the ideas and emotions that propel the nation.

CULTURE

French Canada

There's something in the air, beyond the mellifluous tones of the French language. Something about the way people greet each other, the prevalence of superb bakeries and neighborhood cafés, the artful way a scarf is slung over the shoulder, the openness in each smile. You find yourself humming down the street, taking longer walks, trying new things, and staying out later. The infectious spirit of French Canada is alive in communities all across the country. Given the chance, it will sweep you well off your feet with an easy reminder that the joy of life is in fact, life itself.

First Nations

Peeking over the ragged cliff where the sacred buffalo met their end, you imagine the scene that greeted them below. After a dinner of deer stew and bannock, you gather around the burning fire as your guide recounts the legends and stories of his people. You listen intently and the rumble of hooves charging across the plains comes to life on the wind. There is a slight gust and you can feel the spirits of the elders watching over you as you pull back the leather flap of your teepee for a night of rest under the stars.

EVENTS

Audiences tap their feet, roar with laughter and applause. Communities gather to celebrate their heritage, participate in tradition. The best in Canadian and international talent come together to share ideas and experiences. Festivals and events bring all sorts of people together for all sorts of reasons. But the basic reason – to have a good time. So go to Canada, and join the party.

Theater Festivals

When the lights go down, you suspend your disbelief and enter a world, sometimes familiar, sometimes strange, where characters act and react with emotions as visceral as your own. Words carry more weight. When the lights come back up, the "real" world seems slightly changed somehow – or is it you that's changed? Whatever the case may be, you can't wait for the next show.

Art Festivals

Stories told with passion and wit entrance a mixed audience. Arresting images of beauty, courage and triumph make a lasting impression. Informal discussions about the ideas presented are as engaging as the works themselves. Canada celebrates the world of creativity with stimulating festivals that light sparks of inspiration in all of us.

Music Festivals & Events

The thump-thumping gets your toes tapping. The good vibrations have your fingers snap-snapping. The sweet melody swells in your throat, a sonorous hum that slides into song. Give yourself over to the music of Canada and discover new rhythms to stir your soul.

Food & Wine Festivals

Rich, creamy chocolates made lovingly by hand. Seductive wines with a smooth, lasting finish. Fresh, juicy lobster caught in the morning, drizzled with butter by early evening. These are but a few of Canada's unique flavors – gastronomic delights well worth celebrating.

Heritage Festivals

Swirling colors and rhythms of distant lands or times past. Aromas and flavors of traditional foods prepared the old-fashioned way. Celebrations that get hearts pumping and raise the spirits of everyone within earshot. In a culture of many cultures, there is a lot to celebrate and just as many ways to do it. Canada's vibrant cultural festivals help us pay homage to the people, places, and relationships that have shaped the nation's history, personality and future.

Sporting Events & Festivals

The speed to whip past opponents. The balance to stay on top. The strength to keep pushing the limits. Fervent applause for those who excel. And equal adoration for those who finish second, third, fourth… Witness all the sweat, the strain and the thrill of athletic competition at a Canadian sporting event. Or better yet, test your own skill as a participant and show Canada what you're made of.

FAMILY

Canada has family-friendly activities and attractions designed for kids with lively imaginations and energy to burn.

In summer, take them horseback riding at a dude ranch or let them ride the waterslides at one of Canada’s amazing amusement parks. Visit the country’s award-winning science and learning centers, including a visit to see the massive dinosaur skeletons at the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Paleontology in the Badlands of Drumheller, Alberta.

In winter, the kids will love tobogganing, tubing, ice skating, skiing and thrilling to the wonder of winter festivals like the famous Carnaval de Québec. Several family and children’s festivals & events take place across the country, including the Vancouver International Children’s Festival in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Year-round, you can head to one of Canada’s fabulous museums. Kids can get their hands dirty at the Children’s Museum in Hull, Quebec, or visit a real bat cave at the Royal Ontario Museum. Or they’ll have fun following the path of pioneers to Barkerville Historic Town in British Columbia, a restored Cariboo Gold Rush town with 130 heritage buildings.

FOOD

Sink your teeth into juicy tomatoes still warm from the sun. Smell rosemary, thyme and basil in an herb garden. Swirl and sip a sampling of local wines. Savor the aroma of freshly baked organic breads. Visit a local farmers’ market and buy ripe produce direct from the grower. Gather your own eggs for breakfast at a farm B&B. Spread a dollop of hand-churned butter onto a crisp baguette.

Across Canada, dine in restaurants where chefs walk outside to their gardens to see what’s ripe before deciding what will land on your plate. Slow down and tour scenic farmland, stopping to chat with local producers happy to explain how ducks, chickens and veggies are organically raised and artisanal cheeses created. Grab an apron and learn how to make pasta from scratch, how to preserve fall fruit and how to cook with goodies you harvested yourself. Walk in the woods on a mushroom hunt, and then eat your gourmet-prepared forest treasures in a sunny farmhouse kitchen.

Niagara Icewine Festival

Come in from the cold and warm your palate with Niagara’s famous ice-wine during this popular winter wine festival of tours, tastings and gala dinners.

For ten days in January, Ontario’s Niagara region is transformed into a wintry wonderland, celebrating one of wine world’s sweet rarities—ice-wine. Made from frozen grapes harvested when temperatures drop to 17.6 degrees Fahrenheit, it takes ten times the number of grapes to produce a glass of ice wine compared to traditional table wine.

Dust off your formal best and begin your week of wine tasting at the Icewine Gala. Over 30 wineries offer more than 100 varieties of ice wine, renowned for its wonderful sweetness, intense fruit flavor, crisp finish and deep nectar color.

Downtown at Mango Shiva, indulge in a karmic blend of Indian spices and pork. Come up for air—and veggies. Browse the Calgary Farmers’ Market; yes, great produce does grow during the short prairie summer. Taste the sweetest corn in memory. Ask Simple Simon to recommend which pie to taste. Buy spuds from Hutterite vendors and realize there’s something comforting about buying food from direct from the people who grow it.

Spend an afternoon in Kensington. Your nose will fall in love with the aromatic teas sold at the Naked Leaf. Rub shoulders with yuppies over authentic Napoletana pizza at Pulcinella. Sip global vintages with hipsters at a neighborhood wine bar. Indulge in European-influenced decadence at Chef’s Table, known for dazzling food and superb service. Walk off dinner along the nearby river pathways of Prince’s Island Park.

Pei Shellfish Festival

Oysters, mussels, lobster and clams: enjoy a shellfish feast while taking in some authentic East Coast entertainment during this three-day festival.

Catch it in the morning. Learn three ways to cook it by lunch. Eat it for supper. Slip the fresh oysters over your tongue and let them slither down your throat. Lick your lips. Reach for another. Dig deep into the red sand for a prized clam. Hear the crack as you break open the lobster shell you watched hauled in by a craggy fisherman. Dance the night away under a starry sky to the beat of an Acadian fiddle.

Admire the red and gold leaves of an island autumn. Create a tune with your toes at the “singing beach.” Train under a Culinary Institute of Canada chef. Take a boat cruise and prep for your first quintessential PEI class: Shellfish 101. Thank a farmer. Kiss a cook.

Linger over an organic lunch of oysters and mussels just plucked from the sea. Eat market-fresh veggies from chefs who have fruitful (or is that veggie?) relationships with farmers. Smell the aroma of a wood-fired grill. Bite into heirloom green, yellow and orange tomatoes. Devour still-warm artisanal bread. Order fish that has been sustainably harvested. Pair local cheeses with wine from just down the road. Go wild over seasonal berries.

Canadian chefs are passionate about field-to-table cooking. Across the country, they hang up their whites, pull on their boots and head for the markets, fields, farms and seashore. With their nose, hands and palate they choose rustic hand-milled grains, chemical-free baby potatoes and organic free-range lambs from local purveyors. Cooking the “locavore” way, they are champions of sustainability.

Quebec’s Gourmet Route

Pick organic produce, eat tourtière, pâté and cassoulet, take an agro tourism journey, and connect with Québécois artisans along The Gourmet Route.

Drive through a landscape of lush orchards bursting with midsummer fruit. Quench your thirst with an ice-cold cider while enjoying breathtaking views of the St. Lawrence River. Take a detour at Poissonnerie Joseph Paquet—sample the smoked trout and house-made cheeses.

At La Conserverie du Quartier cannery in Québec City, try over 300 handmade jams and other preserves. Treat your senses to an aromatherapy workshop at Aliksir, an organic essential oil économusée (a small, artisanal craft or food business recognized for the quality and authenticity of its know-how). Discover how a rich culinary tradition of fresh, local ingredients grew from Québec’s first settlers. Then settle in at Auberge Baker to feast on smoked bison, traditional meat pie and duck breast.

Shediac Lobster Tales

Let real lobster fishermen put you in the action. Haul in lobster traps, learn about lobster cuisine and finally savor one yourself.

You discover your sea legs on a boat in Shediac Bay, standing next to experienced lobster fishermen. You’re shown the correct way to haul in lobster traps (yes, you do it yourself!), then shown how to cook these famed Maritime crustaceans (the secret’s in gauging the boil time to get just the right tenderness). When all is ready, you sit down on board to savor a mouth-watering, freshly cooked lobster dinner. No regular knives and forks here—just a lobster cracker and fork, plus your two hands, will do!

As you cruise these scenic waters, sip a cool drink and enjoy panoramic views of Northumberland Straight from your top-deck chair. Make a note to explore some of finest beaches in Canada; Parlee Beach boasts the warmest saltwater north of Virginia.

Okanagan Wine Tours

Sniff, swirl, savor and spit on a wine-tasting tour in BC’s Okanagan Valley, the “Napa of the North.”

Sniff, swirl, savor and spit surrounded by spectacular mountains and beautiful lakes in British Columbia’s sunny Okanagan Valley, often called the “Napa of the North.” Sample an astonishing Riesling or an exquisite cabernet franc. Meditate on the merits of a pyramid-aged wine. Enjoy a panoramic view of 96-mile-long Okanagan Lake as you dine on pork chops and jumbo prawns paired with a crisp pinot gris. Even though you can’t tell a Shiraz from a Syrah, you’re determined to visit as many of the region’s 100-plus wineries as you can.

Delight in “nectar of the gods”: ice wine made from grapes harvested at 14 to 17.6 degrees Fahrenheit or lower—often by moonlight—and pressed while still frozen. Secretly gloat as you buy labels not available in any liquor store, anticipating the envy of your oenophile friends. Listen as owners reveal the stories behind names like Laughing Stock, See Ya Later Ranch, Elephant Island, Golden Beaver and Blasted Church. Try to get your hands on some of the valley’s last remaining Maréchal Foch, or to get your tongue around a Qwam Qwmt from Nk’Mip (pronounced “in-ka-meep”), an Aboriginal-owned-and-operated winery.

St. Ann’s Parish Suppers

Join a generations-old tradition where the ladies of the community prepare lobster dinners for visitors in the parish.

Work up an appetite paddling or cycling, slake your thirst with local wines, then head to St. Ann’s Parish for dinner. Loosen your belt. Tie on your bib. Now tuck into a mountainous multi-course meal, home-cooked by the ladies of the community. Go slow on the appetizers: homemade seafood chowder, steamed Blue Island mussels or garden salad. Save your indulging for the star of the show: steaming, coral-red lobster, so fresh it was probably walking along the sea floor beneath you as you paddled in the bay. Crack it open and snag out every last succulent morsel. Slowly fork it into your mouth. Let it sit a moment before chewing. The taste is sublime—as if you’ve died and gone to heaven. Remember to return to earth for strawberry shortcake or lemon meringue pie and coffee.

Reflect on the days when one of the main uses for lobster on the Prince Edward Island was as fertilizer. What a travesty! A lobster sandwich was a sign of poverty. Even well into the 20th century, lobster was at best a potluck meal. Then, in 1964, Father Denis Gallant of St. Ann’s Parish organized lobster suppers to raise money for church renovations. Today, what began as a potluck is a booming industry all over the island.

Okanagan Cycling and Wine

Take an organized cycling tour through idyllic Okanagan Valley (“Napa of the North”) vineyards; be pampered at a luxury hotel.

Your tour operator has taken care of everything, from the transportation to your hotel in a luxury, custom-designed vehicle, to the catered lunches served al fresco. So relax—you’re one of the lucky few to visit these award-winning, small-batch vineyards, whose wines are snapped up by Canada’s top sommeliers.

Variety is on Toronto’s Menu

Debate the best hot dog, visit the world’s highest wine cellar, nosh through markets, eat ethnic to your heart’s content. Toronto dining is like a slow-cooking stew: each ingredient tastes great solo, yet when combined with others, creates magic. Shake off your jet lag with a grilled hot dog from any downtown street cart. Toppings are key. Olives? Bacon bits? Further satisfy a comfort-food craving with a greasy-good batch of fries from a French-fry truck.

Sample your way through local flavors at the St. Lawrence Market; consider a lesson with one of their celebrity chefs. Be your own Food TV critic: dine at an eatery that’s been overhauled on Restaurant Makeover, and then decide if the local cook listened to the expert chef. Nosh your way around the world starting with traditional ethnic foods: share a heaping plate of Greek calamari or a mountain of handcrafted pasta cooked by a mama who still speaks Italian. Venture into “newer” ethnic enclaves where exotic global snacks await, such as at Kensington Market.

Eastern Township’s Local Food

Immerse yourself in Lower Canada’s history. Unravel an age-old culinary secret. Celebrate good food and friends. Toast joie de vivre. Take small bites. Eat slowly. Enjoy lunch against a backdrop of sun-drenched vineyards. Taste the foie gras of your youth. Make friends with a local shop owner. Kiss the cook—on both cheeks. Vow to make joie de vivre a part of your vocabulary.

Ah, the good life. It’s alive and well in Québec’s Eastern Townships—easily accessible an hour’s drive from Montréal. Take photos of rounded red barns set delightfully against rolling green hills. Sit down to a grand picnic near a covered bridge. Send a prayer of thanks to the groves of maple trees for the syrup they produce. Politely lick your fingers. Walk a trail, bike a path or forge your own way up a mountain. Pick fresh apples off a tree older than your childhood. Return to pick sweet and plump blueberries and raspberries. Listen to the whispers of your ancestors in the wind. Touch the grapes. Learn from the growers.

Savor the fresh, local food of generations past. Try oatmeal pancakes and corn chowder and freshly steamed brown bread. Eat roasted lamb, honey just off the hive and cheeses as historic as the area. Drink cider and apple wine and mead. Tell everyone how full you are. Order seconds in French.

Cordon Bleu Cooking in Ottawa

Indulge in an over-the-top four-hour dining experience from one of North America's most prestigious dining schools. Butter bubbles in the saucepan. The smell of roasted garlic wafts through air. You stand, mesmerized, listening to the chop-chopping sounds of a master chef as he prepares the lamb shank. He’s from the Burgundy region of France, you discover, famous for its pinot noir grapes and boeuf bourguignon.

Amateur cooks and weekend culinary chefs are drawn to the short courses of Le Cordon Bleu Ottawa Culinary Arts Institute—the only Le Cordon Bleu in Canada—a cooking school with a reputation gleaned from the legendary French masters. The school’s popular short courses span three hours to four days and cover grilling, making sauces and stocks, bread baking, frozen desserts and much more. You can take part in a cooking demonstration with a master chef and then practice preparing the dish.

So fire up the skillet and get to your cutting board station—it’s time to julienne. Learn classic French recipes. Perfect the art of indoor grilling. Create cannelloni and "vegitalian" borscht. Make Mexican crab empanadas in one lesson and learn the secrets of Thai tom yum soup in another. There’s even a “knife skills” class so that you can perfect dicing, turning, as well as fish and chicken de-boning.

Vancouver is Foodie Heaven

Chow down on food so local you practically see it growing. Vancouver’s food scene is booming, and is surprisingly affordable. Give yourself permission to indulge in food-centric Vancouver. Eat six small meals today. Discover 65 different ethnic, wallet-friendly cuisines in nine short blocks along Denman alone. Ask five locals to recommend their favorite sushi joint; get five different answers and try ‘em all—this city is sushi heaven.

Salivate over piles of plump fruit, fresh fish, local cheeses and sublime baked goods at the Granville Island Public Market. Explore the market with a chef. Snag a bottle of artisan sake. Wander off the island to join lined-up locals at Go Fish, an oceanside fish & chips shack. How fresh? Wave at the fishermen unloading their catch.

Arrive early in the perpetually cool South Granville district for the continent’s most unique Indian food. No reservations. Celebrities wait; you do, too. Be amazed when Vij himself serves you complimentary starters. Peek into the kitchen—it’s dominated by women. Order lamb popsicles in fenugreek cream curry. Allow your eyes to glaze upon first taste.

Shucking 101

PEI is home to the world famous Malpeque oyster. Learn about the oyster, its cultivation, harvest, shucking and preparation with Canadian champion Jon Bil. World-famous Malpeque oysters are the toast of any Prince Edward Island trip. Delicious deep-fried, sautéed, or on the half-shell, they’re known for their sweetness and pickle-like liveliness. But first, you have to open them. And with a hands-on lesson from John Bil, world-famous shucker, you discover how succulent an oyster can be.

“Shucking 101” is Bil’s two-hour workshop, available in Charlottetown, PEI. A former oysterman and three-time Canadian Oyster Shucking Champion, Bil has raised the shuck—that elegant jab-and-twist motion of the wrist—to a high art. And what a difference technique makes. The Malpeque is often served with nothing but its own liquor—a half-ounce or so of distilled Atlantic Ocean that the prized mollusk seals inside its shell the moment it’s pulled from the sea. With the right jab-and-twist motion, Bil will show you how to preserve every precious drop.

At the end of your one-to-two-hour lesson, you sit down to a plate of fresh Malpeque oysters and a choice beverage to wash them down. Tell your friends you’re now an “Official PEI Oyster Shucker" because you’ll have the certificate to prove it.

Wine Country Culinary School

Located within Strewn, an estate winery, this school offers recreational cooks the relationships between food and wine. Pair ripe strawberries with award-winning wine and what do you get? An aphrodisiac for the culinary set.

No wonder cooks are falling in love with Wine Country Cooking School’s unique brand of sauté and spice. Each lesson is a love affair with local, seasonal ingredients paired with aromatic Strewn-VQA wines. Roll up your sleeves as your instructor guides you through themed three-course menus. Think strawberries and chardonnay in June. A savory rosé to accompany fresh peaches and grilled meats in July. Aromas of lime and hazelnut from a gewürztraminer mingled with spicy pork in August.

MONUMENTS

Majestic parklands of towering mountains, plunging waters, ragged cliffs, and sculpted rock that have been home to countless species of wildlife since time began. Dinosaur fossils etched into the striped cliffs of an arid sandstone valley. Abandoned villages where weathered totem poles still honor the enduring spirit of inhabitants long gone, but not forgotten. Lunenburg, with its straight and orderly streets on the bay, the old city of Quebec with its meandering cobblestone alleys. Reach back in time a few hundred years or a few million, and discover the places and stories that define Canada's unique heritage.

MUSEUMS

Statues of steel, bronze and concrete bloom in sculpture gardens. Works by Canadian masters and innovators like Carr, Colville, Riopelle and The Group of Seven adorn the salons of more traditional galleries. International artists are celebrated alongside both historic and contemporary pieces of Aboriginal and Inuit art. Cultural treasures from civilizations past illuminate the path of human history. Varied collections of art and artifacts flourish in the galleries and museums of Canada. The rush of inspiration is well worth the price of admission.

NATIONAL PARKS

Canadian parks feature some of the most remarkable scenery on Earth. Step outside your door to wander through rainforests, circle serene lakes or walk across valleys carpeted with wildflowers. Or set off to hike beneath snow-capped peaks, dip into soothing hot springs, paddle historic canoe routes, or wind through spectacular old-growth forest. For a remote wilderness experience, backcountry enthusiasts can climb glaciers, paddle isolated coastal inlets or set up camp on a secluded mountain plateau. Follow your own trail to enter a world as vivid as your imagination.

Many national parks also feature world-class heritage sites. Discover dinosaur fossils, the remains of a 19th-Century Aboriginal village, as well as protected wildlife from whooping cranes to wood buffalo. Historic sites include such landmarks as the Old Port of Quebec and the Fortress of Louisbourg in Nova Scotia.

Yoho National Park

Some 28 peaks, gem-colored lakes, roaring rivers, and steep rocks are just part of the park's impressive natural bounty. You'll also find Canada's second highest waterfall and the impressive Burgess Shale, which contains the world's finest 505-million-year-old Cambrian-aged fossils of soft-bodied marine organisms. Hiking, whitewater rafting, fishing, canoeing are just a few activities that engage visitors.

Kouchibouguac National Park

Canoe, bike, kayak or picnic on the beach. The park includes dramatic vistas of bogs, salt marshes, tidal rivers, sheltered lagoons and tall forests. You can also explore some 37 mi of hiking trails.

Bay of Fundy National Park

The endangered peregrine falcon nests on the rising cliff formations of Bay of Fundy National Park. Sandals in hand, feet squishing on the wet sand, you can circle the monumental pillars of stone carved by the sea and topped with grass to check out the view of the nests above.

Over four to six weeks beginning in mid-July, more than two million shorebirds congregate in the bay’s upper reaches. Visit the park to rappel or climb the area’s rugged cliffs or paddle the unique tidal waterways.

More national parks:

Jasper National Park

Canada’s Largest Rocky Mountain National Park

Banff National Park

Kootenay National Park, Alberta

Gros Morne National Park

Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba

Nahanni National Park Reserve, Northwest Territories

Elk Island National Park

Wapusk National Park

Kluane National Park

Riding Mountain National Park, Manitoba

PLACES

Stretching from the Pacific to the Atlantic and deep into the Arctic, Canada is a big country, with a lot of places to experience. Rugged mountain peaks and soft sandy beaches. Bustling cosmopolitan cities surrounded by quiet cozy villages. Historic sites brimming with authentic traditions and stories from the past. Galleries showcasing modern works and masters of Canadiana. Innovative attractions to delight the imagination. Diverse and endlessly engaging. Canada is made for exploring.

Regions

Canada's regions run the gamut of experiences; each possessing its own unique character, defining geography and cultural touch points.

The Prairies
When the wind whips up over the open plains, oceans of tall grasses ripple in waves, their feathery tops tickling your thighs. A colorful patchwork of crops stretches out beyond the horizon under a never-ending sky, suggesting boundless possibilities. You can't wait for the sunset to sweep across this idyllic expanse. Somehow you know, the prairie sky is sure to put on quite a show.

Northern Canada Here, the sun is either your constant companion or long lost friend. The bite of cold has long since disappeared as you track across the snowy plain. The howl of a lonely coyote floats across the open tundra on a mellow gust of wind, adding melody to the rhythm of your breathing, to the ambient noise of sled scraping along hard-packed snow.

Native legends animate the living landscape. The trailblazing spirit of Klondike pioneers still inhabits Gold Rush towns like Whitehorse and Dawson City. Stony inukshuks dot the landscape marking the spot where others have tread, like ghosts of travelers with whom you cross paths in space, if not time.

Canada’s East Coast
The tide surges in, resolved to fight its way back into the bay. You run up the steep staircase, hoping to beat the rising sea to the top of the cliff. A yelp as a squirt of water splashes your side. The sea waits for no one.

Central Canada
Storefronts clamor for your attention in a multitude of languages. Tides of people going about their day sweep you along the busy streets. From the home-style sausages smoking on sidewalk grills to the white napkin power lunches of Bay Street, Toronto buzzes with perpetual activity and ambition.

In the national capital of Ottawa, red-coated guards march past lofty parliament buildings with choreographed precision. Grand boulevards designed to receive eminent dignitaries, like you for instance, lead the way to the nation's treasures.

Mountains/West
Air, cleansed by regular Pacific rain and billions of leafy filters, rushes into your lungs, stimulating each nerve from the inside. You'll need every one of them at attention before you charge headlong down Whistler's powdery slopes or start the grueling climb up the rocky face of the Chief. Never backed down from a challenge before, shouldn't start now.

You take the reins in Calgary and head into the Badlands under a blazing Western sun. A capable horse leads you through the Martian landscape of striped sandstone hoodoos. You trace your fingers over the bony silhouettes of ancient reptiles stamped into the cliffs. The past speaks through your hands.

Back in Vancouver, glossy towers gleam – beacons for authentic sushi and the latest trends from the Far East. Not an unfit creature in sight at the beach or in the park. All muscle, no hustle. Wish you could lie there forever, squinting at the sun, imagining fluffy clouds into animal shapes while cool waves lick the sand from your toes.

Provinces & Territories

Canada's federal union is a patchwork quilt of 13 distinct provinces & territories. And to be sure, each patch accounts for much more than a simple line on some map.

British Columbia
Thousand-year-old cedars wear coats of thick moss in Carmanah Valley. You pretend you're a human ant as you step around the ancient tree roots rising out of the ground like small buildings. Down the coast, you dig clams out of the sandy beach at low tide, and then hang around a few hours to watch the waves come crashing onto the rocks.

Inland, the sweet fragrance of apples and peaches ripening in the sun embellishes the picturesque landscape of Okanagan orchards. You crave the rush of wind that envelops your body as you hurtle down the powdery slopes of Whistler or the deep white bowls of the Rocky Mountains. And you never miss a chance to fill up on the gastronomic pleasures of authentic sushi and curries in cosmopolitan Vancouver.

Alberta
From the dizzying height of your Rocky Mountain peak you descend. Past the jagged cliffs where mountain goats huddle, through the forest where grizzly bears mark their territory on evergreen trunks, past the migrating herd of caribou in the valley and across a crystal clear lake. You take extra care walking across the ice fields between Jasper and Banff, the crackle of ice beneath your boots both thrilling and unnerving.

A very forgiving steed leads you through the rolling foothills under a blazing sun. It saunters nonchalantly through the Badlands of flat-topped hoodoos as you gape at the dinosaur impressions left in the sandstone cliffs. A rewarding stop in Calgary yields, among other treats, a bold steak, an ice-cold drink and a whole lot of western hospitality.

Saskatchewan
A boundless blue sky stretches over golden fields of wheat rippling in the warm, dry wind. The horizon interrupted only by a lone grain elevator. A dusty pick-up chugs down a gravel road, its weathered driver intently observing this year's field of crops.

Meanwhile, you luxuriate on the buoyant surface of a hot mineral spring, its curative powers made famous by Native legend. All the muscles you stiffened playing 18 holes of your best golf, release their tension into the healing waters. Soon enough, you'll be as good as new, ready for another day of downtown patio hopping in Saskatoon or testing your relationship with lady luck at the grand casino in Regina.

Manitoba
Polar bears wrestle each other in the open tundra around Churchill, white furry bodies tumbling on white fluffy snow. You don't mind when one of them focuses his glare through your window, warm breath puffing against the glass. And you certainly weren't complaining when a 4' long Northern Pike splashed into your boat from the bountiful waters of Lake Winnipeg. You brag about your latest catch all the way down the Red River until it meets the Assiniboine.

The dynamic city of Winnipeg draws you into the marvels of urbanity. Hip waders change into something a little more elegant and the curtain rises on an altogether different kind of dance than the one you fought this afternoon with that trophy Pike.

Ontario
The unforgettable call of the loon wakes you from your sun-drenched reverie. Applying another layer of sunscreen, you resume your artful pose at the end of the dock. You're sad to say goodbye to the peaceful lake and cozy cottage.

The excitement of steering into a tumultuous river of water as it cascades down a steep drop pulls you away. The thundering roar of Niagara Falls drowns out all conversation, but the wide-eyed grins say it all. You dry off and warm up with the latest vintage from down the road.

Quebec
Church bells ring in the picturesque towns nestled in the rolling hills. The old mill is still grinding flour on its stone wheel. The maple trees are still tapped for their sweet sap. You discover the time-honored tradition of maple taffy on snow – a refreshing chill on your tongue that melts into sweetness as it slips down your throat.

In the narrow cobblestone streets of the old city, you find vestiges of colonial France – turreted stone buildings, horse drawn buggies, weavers working their looms. Street performers sing, juggle and dance in the square while you dine by candlelight on a romantic terrace. A breezy standard seduces you into a late night jazz bar with a thumping bass and sprightly trumpet. The room squeezes in tighter with a crush of newcomers and you realize the night is still very young.

New Brunswick
New Brunswick has a way of touching all your senses. It’s a place where echoes sound in mountains and valleys. You can feel the ocean’s spray along surf-pounded headlands and reach out to touch marram grass swaying along white coastal dunes.

The world’s highest tides flow into the province’s Bay of Fundy, and you can walk the ocean floor when the waters recede. New Brunswick is a place where rivers surge and wild salmon thrive, where fiddle players dance and 34 swimming beaches tempt you with their gentle waters.

Come dance with an Acadian joie de vivre (joy of life) that’s never out of step, and discover a British Loyalist tradition that’s never out of style. New Brunswick’s cultural mosaic weaves Aboriginal, Acadian, Brayon, Loyalist, Scottish and Irish heritages together in communities of passionate, proud people.

For a true taste of Acadie culture, visit the award-winning Village Historique Acadien, where life centuries ago is relived and celebrated. Kings Landing Historical Settlement tempts visitors with the sound of horses trotting through the 19th-century life of a British Loyalist settlement.

Nova Scotia
You weren't exactly sure what to expect. An image of people chatting around a kitchen table, eating chips and dip, was your first thought. When you arrive at the "kitchen party" you see half the guests are holding musical instruments. And they're not all crammed into the kitchen. They're on the sofas, the rugs and the windowsills – filling up any available space where they can sit, lean or stand.

Prince Edward Island
You drag your feet slowly across the pink sand and listen. You do it again, a little faster, and listen. Not sure if it's a squeak or a whine. It's quite distinctive, though. There is definitely something about this sand.

Newfoundland & Labrador
Gargantuan icebergs glint in the summer sun out on the rippling bay. As you snap some photos, a man loading up a dinghy asks if you want to take a closer look at the icy giants. It's no trouble, he insists, he's on his way out anyway. The air feels noticeably cooler as you approach the ocean liner-sized floating glacier.

Yukon
You give one last preparatory sigh, your breath a white puff in the frosty air. You release the snub line and feel a tremendous forward thrust. A cacophony of yelps and howls stream back towards you – the dogs are excited to finally strike out on the trail.

Northwest Territories
It's well after midnight and you're finishing up another cup of coffee. The sun is still glowing bright and warm over the course and you are still going strong. Your last shot made it miraculously onto the green, leaving you in good position to birdie once again. Your companions can only shake their heads at your fine playing streak.

SHOPPING

You can spend your way through the intriguing neighborhoods of Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, or spend several days browsing the world's largest shopping center in Edmonton. You can dig up a bargain on Arctic diamonds fresh from the mine or sweeten your life with authentic Canadian maple syrup from a sugar shack in the woods. Unique finds await you in cosmopolitan centers and out-of-the-way spots alike. The challenge isn't finding things to buy, it's figuring out how to get all your purchases home.

SPORTS

Trails & Hiking

Stroll through lush fields under seemingly infinite skies. Sway your way across suspension bridges strung over vertiginous ravines. Take a step back in time on a heritage walking tour or along a re-purposed railway line. Scrape the clouds roaming through the Rocky Mountains. Canada's extensive trail system spans the country and lets you experience every one of the country’s natural landscapes – one step at a time.

Paddling

There are quiet moments when you drift along a gentle current and drink in the spectacular scenery of pristine forests and untrammeled wilderness. And there are thundering passages of white water that require all your strength and every ounce of concentration you can muster to conquer. Whether you like to take it easy or test the limits of your endurance, dipping your paddle is one of the best ways to discover Canada and experience nature in its purest – and wettest – form.

Fishing

Massive breakers carry tides of fish in from the Atlantic, Pacific and chilly Arctic waters. Trophy-size salmon, pike and trout thrive in thousands upon thousands of pristine rivers and lakes. The challenge of reeling in the one that didn't get away is as great as the unspoiled Canadian wilderness you'll find yourself exposed to along the way. And just in case you brought the wrong flies, the sumptuous lodge offers a great consolation prize, and the perfect setting for the evening discussion of the one that got away.

Golf

Mountains, oceans and Arctic tundra form the backdrop to challenging fairways and immaculate greens. Celebrated names like Nicklaus, Thompson, Robinson, Furber and Whitman loom large on world-class courses. Play all night under the warm glow of the midnight sun in the Far North. Or putt your way around beautiful Prince Edward Island in full view of the sparkling Atlantic. In Canada, spectacular golfing is just par for the course.

Skiing

Renowned for massive annual snowfalls, steep verticals and luxury ski resorts, Canada is one of the top ski and snowboarding destinations in the world. You can carve your way across the legendary Canadian Rockies surrounded by towering rock faces, floating waist high in champagne powder. Or play all day on the wide-open slopes of Quebec's rolling Laurentian Mountains, which boast an average annual snowfall of three meters (10 feet), then relax at a charming, European-style village by night.

Canada's winter dreamscape includes easily accessible alpine skiing and snowboarding, as well as heli-skiing and boarding, cross-country and more. Hit the slopes from November to late March in the east; in the west, the season stretches to late May (even June).